Whitney Johnson is a leading thinker on driving innovation via personal disruption and cofounder of Clayton Christensen's investment firm. She is a regular contributor for Harvard Business Review and LinkedIn, and the author of Disrupt Yourself, which Publisher's Weekly called "superb, savvy, wise." Whitney also speaks and consults with Fortune 100 Companies. Recently, her work was recognized by the Thinkers50, which named her as a finalist for the 2013 Future Thinker Award. You can find her at whitneyjohnson.com.
Business to business companies can usually access financing more easily than companies that deal with consumers directly. In this type of scenario, you can use your clients' invoices to obtain financing from lenders. The process of obtaining cash advances using your clients’ invoices is called factoring. The factor takes the role of collecting the full amount owed to you by your client, then deducts the amount advanced to you and any other fee then pays you the balance.
If it does not exist, create it. If you have an idea-ideas or skills, think of how to use your ideas or skills to create a business and to put it out there to see what it can attract and what you can create. Many successful businesses started with an idea and that idea has become a success “from one person business to global corporations”. Failure is an attempt at success, if you don’t give up and modify each attempt, then each attempt can become a success.
Guidant is our recommended ROBS provider. Guidant has helped over 10,000 businesses and facilitated over $3 billion in small business financing since 2003. They are also the only ROBS firm we know of which guarantees access to outside independent counsel during the ROBS setup process, which can help you objectively evaluate if ROBS is a good decision for the franchise you are buying.

Government loans are typically offered through banks and credit unions that partner with the Small Business Administration (SBA). The SBA is a U.S. government body, with the motive of providing support for small businesses and entrepreneurs. For each loan authorized, a government-backed guarantee offers serious credibility, since the lender knows that even if you default, the government will pay off the balance. These loans can be applied to a number of uses, such as:

Once you have chosen a name for your business, you will need to check if it's trademarked or currently in use. Then, you will need to register it. A sole proprietor must register their business name with either their state or county clerk. Corporations, LLCs, or limited partnerships typically register their business name when the formation paperwork is filed.

You should specifically start your search for a lender that has experience funding franchises. Some major banks such as Bank of America, HSBC, and PNC have specific programs targeting franchisees. Smaller institutions specialize in franchising in specific industries, such as restaurant franchise funding from Oak Street Capital, and hotel funding from Access Point Financial.

Remember that a business is franchised for two reasons: to expand the business and to raise capital. So if you have a reasonably good credit record and pass all the financial requirements, most franchisors will bend over backwards to get you on the team. The help that franchisors provide to help you get financing usually includes assistance with business plans and introductions to lending sources. In many cases, franchisors serve as guarantors of loans you take out.
If the franchise you're considering doesn't offer equipment leasing, look into nonfranchise, nonbank companies that specialize in equipment leasing for franchises. These types of financing companies will often provide asset-based lending to finance franchisees' furniture, equipment, signs and fixtures, and will allow franchisees to purchase the equipment at the end of the lease. Keep in mind that you may lose some tax advantages under the current law if you lease that equipment.

If you have pristine credit, plenty of assets (along with collateral) and relevant experience in the related field, a bank business loan to start/purchase a franchise is possible. But, being that a franchise purchase is essentially a start-up, banks tend to shy away from providing loans to franchises because of risk. But banks do offer terms loans, lines of credit and equipment leasing for existing franchises. Will require good credit and a history of profitability.

But not every small business is positioned for success. In fact, only about two-thirds of businesses with employees survive at least two years, and about half survive five years. So you may be in for a real challenge when you decide to take the plunge, ditch your day job, and become a business owner. The stage is often set in the beginning, so making sure you follow all of the necessary steps when starting your business can set the foundation for success.
He is president of Toister Performance Solutions, Inc., a consulting firm that helps companies improve customer service. Jeff has appeared on numerous lists of top customer service experts including Global Gurus' World's Top 30 Customer Service Professionals, ICMI's Top 50 Thought Leaders to Follow on Twitter, and HDI's Top 25 Thought Leaders in Technical Support and Service Management.
Why start a small business? Some people want to spend more time with family, and starting a business allows them to do that. Some find it exhausting to be outside the house all day, dealing with traffic, co-workers, meetings and interruptions. Some people hate answering to a boss all the time — needing permission to schedule a dentist appointment or take the day off when they’re sick. Some people are unmotivated by the security of a regular paycheck and prefer the challenge of the direct rewards or losses that entrepreneurs see from their efforts.

I am looking into opening a truck parts supplies shop/ body shop repairs/painting. I currently own one semi truck and use it for hauling agricultural products. my credit score is in the 600’s. Would I qualify for some type of loan? The local banks in my area have not qualified my for a small business loan, while others with worst credit than I get approved. The town I live in is small, so it’s like you have to know someone to get approved. If you know what I’m saying.

If your DSCR is less than one, you have negative cash flow because company income isn't enough to repay debt. Getting a loan will be difficult. Typically, lenders want to see at least a 1.35 DSCR, which would mean that if your organization's annual net operating income is $70,000, you wouldn't want to borrow more than around $51,800. However, the higher your DSCR, the better your chances of being approved for a loan on favorable terms.
Embarking on a new business venture is both exciting and terrifying in equal measure. On one hand, you’ll finally be the boss; the master of your own destiny who’s pursuing success in something that you’re truly passionate about. On the other hand, you now have a laundry list of things that you need to tick off before you even start to make sure everything kicks off smoothly.
He has been on the full-time faculty at Rice University, the University of Arizona, and the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST). He has also been an Executive MBA lecturer at HKUST, SKOLKOVO (Moscow School of Management), China Europe International Business School (CEIBS), the University of Illinois (US), and INSEAD (Singapore and Paris). Professor Kay Stice has received awards for high-quality teaching at Arizona, Rice, and Brigham Young University, and he was twice selected as one of the top ten lecturers at HKUST.
Our course starts at the very beginning with setting up QuickBooks for your business. We cover how to record your income and expenses, how to manage bank and credit card transactions and how to run financial statements. There are a total of 39 tutorials in our QuickBooks course spanning seven lessons. Each lesson has been broken down into bite-sized tutorials. Each QuickBooks tutorial includes a video where we demonstrate the concepts presented in each lesson.

As with other small businesses, finding financing for a new franchise can be one of the biggest challenges owners face. Some financing options are unique to franchises, such as franchisor discounts on fees and online financing companies that cater to franchises. General business financing options such as traditional and Small Business Administration loans are also available to franchisees.

3. Leverage social media. Let’s face it, everyone is on social media these days, and the majority of traffic still occurs on Facebook. If you are not using Facebook for your business, create a page today. You are leaving an opportunity on the table if you don’t. There has been a shift the past few years with more and more retirees joining the social media world. I guess they realize that if they want to keep up with their kids, grandkids, friends and neighbors, they better get with the program. In fact, retirees are often my best brand ambassadors and help promote our events.

Trade Secrets. Trade secrets can be a great asset for startups. They are cost effective and last for as long as the trade secret maintains its confidential status and derives value through its secrecy. A trade secret right allows the owner of the right to take action against anyone who breaches an agreement or confidential relationship, or who steals or uses other improper means to obtain secret information. Trade secrets can range from computer programs to customer lists to the formula for Coca-Cola.

4. You get tax benefits. Oh yes. This even applies to freelancers. Depending on the type of business you register as, you could write off a number of your expenses including travel, telephone bills, food, portions of repayments on things like cars, and so on. And, depending on the business you start, there may also be various government incentives. If you’re unsure about what to do and how to register, I strongly advise speaking with your accountant about the tax benefits you could be eligible for.
“ApplePie Capital can accelerate the growth of franchisees because we start by spending time with the franchisee up front to assess their situation, and then identify the best financing options to reach their short and long term goals. Sometimes that will be SBA, and sometimes it will be other options that the local bank doesn’t offer. And unlike the local bank, ApplePie knows the brand metrics. We can underwrite the loan ourselves for our core product, or can educate our lender network on the brand so the franchisee doesn’t have to.”
If you own an existing franchise and are looking for working capital financing, then you’ll likely have even more options than you had when you started your business. These loans can be used to fund any business activity, such as to make payroll or to make equipment purchases. The table below shows some of the best options for working capital franchise financing and who each might be a good fit for.
We designed this workshop to help you, a new business owner, understand and meet your federal tax obligations. This workshop is constructed so that the first three lessons... What You Need to Know about Federal Taxes and Your New Business, What You Need to Know about Schedule C and Other Small Business Taxes and Tax Forms; And How to File and Pay Your Taxes Electronically are for everyone, no matter what kind of business you have or whether you have employees.
You can get an approval decision right after you submit your franchise financing application. Our automated decision-making technology will review your application, and we will let you know if you qualify immediately thereafter. There is no need to waste time gathering up a bunch of your financial statements and copies of your tax returns. You will be happy to know that we look at all credit scores. In addition, you have a limited credit history and still be can a good candidate.
At ApplePie Capital, we are committed to fair lending. We make our commercial credit products and services available to all qualified applicants on a consistent and fair basis. ApplePie Capital does not condone or tolerate discrimination against any applicant on any prohibited basis under the Equal Credit Opportunity Act or any applicable state or local law. Fair lending principles are integrated into our corporate policies, lending operations, staff training, marketing efforts, and third-party lending relationships.
Traditional bank options include term loans, lines of credit and commercial mortgages to buy properties or refinance. Through banks, the U.S. Small Business Administration provides general small-business loans with its 7(a) loan program, short-term microloans and disaster loans. SBA loans range from about $5,000 to $5 million, with an average loan size of $371,000.